Room Full of Spoons
- Juliette Danielle
- Philip Haldiman
- Scott Holmes
- Dan Janjigian
- Carolyn Minnott
- Robyn Paris
- Michael Rousselet
- Doug Walker
- Sandy Schklair
- Kyle Vogt
companies
Parktown Studios
- April 2016 (2016-04)
Room Full of Spoons is a 2016 Canadian documentary film directed by Rick Harper about the 2003 cult film The Room.
Synopsis
Rick Harper, "Canadian documentary maker and The Room superfan",[2] a longtime associate of Tommy Wiseau, director of the infamous 2003 film The Room, explores the story behind the film's troubled production and researches Wiseau's mysterious background, concluding that he is Polish and originally from the city of Poznań.[3]
Cast
- Rick Harper
- Juliette Danielle
- Philip Haldiman
- Carolyn Minnott
- Robyn Paris
- Scott Holmes
- Dan Janjigian
- Kyle Vogt
- Sandy Schklair
- Michael Rousselet
- Doug Walker
- Alan Bagh
Production
Ottawa filmmaker Rick Harper, with Fernando Forero, Martin Racicot and Richard Towns, formed Rockhaven Pictures.[when?][4]
Release
On February 10, 2016, Rick Harper introduced[5] Room Full of Spoons at University of Sheffield Students' Union, with questions and answers with Ryan Finnigan, author of The Room: The Definitive Guide.[6]
Legal issues
After a brief theatrical run in April 2016, the documentary was quickly pulled when independent theaters reported receiving legal notices of copyright infringement from Tommy Wiseau, the director, writer, producer, and star of The Room.[7] Another attempt to release the film in 2017 to capitalize on the film The Disaster Artist was stymied by Wiseau, who filed an injunction in Ontario courts, preventing a DVD release of the film and setting up a lengthy legal battle. After a final trial in January 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Paul Schabas ruled in favour of the makers of Room Full of Spoons, therefore allowing the film to be marketed and released. He ordered Wiseau to pay the filmmakers US$550,000[8] in compensatory damages, CDN$200,000 in punitive damages, and defendants' court costs.[9][10][11][12][13]
Wiseau Studio appealed the Superior Court of Ontario's April 2020 Judgement, and on July 23, 2021, Wiseau's appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario.[14]
On January 15, 2021, in Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper, 2021 ONCA 31, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, for the first time, an Ontario court ordered security for a trial judgment pending appeal.[15]
See also
References
- ^ "Ontario judge lifts injunction on documentary about 'abysmal' cult film The Room". As It Happens. CBC Radio. November 9, 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (3 July 2017). "'The Room' Doc Maker on Falling Out With Tommy Wiseau: "The Most Interesting Person After Michael Jackson"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Van Lullng, Todd (January 29, 2016). "The Irresistible Mystery Of Tommy Wiseau". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ Whittier, Keith (25 April 2016). "Ottawa Filmmaker Rick Harper's Time in The Room". Ottawa Life Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Adventures in Amateur Filmmaking: Mistakes and Missed Takes". Now Then Sheffield. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Finnigan, Ryan (2014). The Room: The Definitive Guide. Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1-4803-9096-6.
- ^ Drees, Rich (17 September 2016). "Why Does THE ROOM's Tommy Wiseau Not Want You To See This Documentary?". filmbuffonline.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Maddaus, Gene (4 May 2020). "Tommy Wiseau Ordered to Pay $700k to 'The Room' Documentary Makers". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
Schabas ordered Wiseau to pay $550,000 to the documentary makers — Richard Harper, Fernando Forero McGrath, Mark Racicot and Richard Towns — in lost revenue due to the thwarted release. He also awarded an extra 200,000 Canadian dollars (about $140,000 U.S.) in punitive damages, citing Wiseau's "oppressive and outrageous" conduct toward the documentary makers. Schabas found that Wiseau had engaged in bad faith negotiations in an effort to forestall the release of the documentary. "In doing so, the plaintiffs were concerned with protecting and maximizing the value of 'The Disaster Artist,' in which the plaintiffs have a financial interest," the judge ruled
- ^ Wiseau Studio, LLC et al. v. Harper et al., 2020 ONSC 2504 (Ontario Superior Court of Justice 2020-04-23).
- ^ Gene Maddaus (May 4, 2020). "Tommy Wiseau Ordered to Pay $700k to 'The Room' Documentary Makers". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Sam Barsanti (May 4, 2020). "Tommy Wiseau ordered to pay $700,000 for trying to shut down The Room documentary". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Brock Thiessen (May 4, 2020). "Tommy Wiseau Ordered to Pay Nearly $1 Million to Canadian Documentary Filmmakers". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Vorel, Jim (May 5, 2020). "Tommy Wiseau Loses $700,000 Lawsuit Related to The Room Documentary Room Full of Spoons". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper, 2021 ONCA 532". ontariocourts.ca. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Goldenberg, Adam; Martini, Kate (22 January 2021). "The Court of Appeal for Ontario orders security for judgment for the first time". McCarthy Tétrault. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
Further reading
- Statement of Claim - Wiseau Studio, LLC June 13th, 2017
- Statement of Defence - Room Full of Spoons Inc. August 9th, 2017
- Injunction Dissolved, Reasons for Judgment - Justice Koehnen, Ontario Superior Court of Justice November 1st, 2017
- Factum of The Plaintiffs, Motion for Leave to Appeal - Wiseau Studio, LLC March 23rd, 2018
- Factum of The Defendants, Motion for Leave to Appeal - Room Full of Spoons Inc. April 11th, 2018
- The Decision, Motion for Leave to Appeal - Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) June 15th, 2018
- Trial Timetable June 4th, 2019
- Defendants' Motion to Dismiss November 25th, 2019
- Trial Management Issues December 10th, 2019
- Plaintiffs Motion to Adjourn Trial December 31st, 2019
- Plaintiffs Motion to Discontinue Main Action January 3rd, 2020
- Reasons for Judgement April 23rd, 2020
- Chisick, Casey; Zagar, Jessica; Henderson, Steven (25 April 2022). "Canada: Stick A Fork In It: Federal Court Ends Latest Chapter In "Room Full Of Spoons" Saga". Mondaq. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- Porter, Candice (12 May 2020). "Wiseau Studio LLC v. Harper: Room Full of Spoons is fair dealing". Stewart McKelvey. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
Legal findings: Copyright; Fair dealing; Moral rights; Intrusion upon seclusion; Counterclaim;
- "Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper, 2021 ONCA 396". CanLII. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- "Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper, 2022 FC 568". CanLII. 2022-04-20. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- Heer, Christopher; Cooper, Toba; Milanese, Mala; Latoszewska, Annette; Huong, Michelle; Kutsyna, Daryna; Munjal, Nikita (June 12, 2023). "Understanding Moral Rights Under Copyright Law In Canada". Heer Law.
The court wrote that it failed to see how the director's work was distorted or mutilated by the documentary, and even if Wiseau was found to have been associated with the documentary, it did not prejudice his reputation or honour (as required by the Copyright Act) for the simple reason that the documentary's commentary on "The Room" as being a terrible film was nothing new.
External links
- Official website
- "Room Full Of Spoons (2017) Trailer". archive.org.
- Room Full of Spoons at IMDb
- Leonard J. French, Esq.. Lawful Masses with Leonard French (May 20, 2020). "Tommy Wiseau Sues 'The Room' Documentary, LOSES, Now Owes $700,000". YouTube.
- v
- t
- e
- The Neighbors (2015)
- The Room Tribute (2010 video game)
- The Disaster Artist
- 2013 book
- 2017 film
- Room Full of Spoons (2016 documentary)
- The Room Returns! (upcoming film)